NEW YORK – Four banks with local operations – Bank of America Corp., Brookline Bancorp., Rockland Trust parent company Independent Bancorp and Webster Bank – made Forbes magazine’s 2013 list of the “Best Banks in America.”

The list rated banks based on eight metrics of financial health, including: return on average equity, net interest margin, nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans, nonperforming assets as percentage of assets, reserves as a percentage of NPLs, two capital ratios and leverage ratio.

Forbes used data from the regulatory filings of public banks and thrifts through the third quarter of 2012, according to a release.

On Forbes’ list, Independent Bancorp ranked highest among local banks, earning the No. 29 slot on the list with $5 billion in total assets and a 9.1 percent return on average equity. Independent Bancorp’s nonperforming loans represented 0.8 percent of all loans, and the reserves as a percentage of NPLs was reported as 161 percent. The bank’s tier 1 ratio was 10.7 and its leverage ratio was 9.7.

Brookline Bancorp. ranked 46th overall, with $5 billion in total assets and a 5.6 percent return on average equity. NPLs accounted for 0.8 percent of the bank’s total loans and reserves as a percentage of NPLs were 119 percent. Brookline’s tier 1 ratio was 10.4 and its leverage ratio was 9.0.

Coming in at No. 53 was Webster Financial with $20 billion in total assets and an 8.7 percent return on average equity. Webster’s NPLs accounted for 1.4 percent of its total loans. Reserves as a percentage of NPLs were 109 percent. The bank’s tier 1 ratio was 11.9 and its leverage ratio was 8.2.

Bank of America Corp. rounded on the list’s banks with local operations, coming in at No. 86. Bank of America had $2.17 trillion in total assets and a 2.3 percent return on average equity. NPLs accounted for 3 percent of Bank of America’s total loans and reserves as a percentage of NPLs was reported at 71 percent. The bank’s tier 1 ratio was 13.6 and its leverage ratio was 7.8.

State Street Bank, Bank of Hawaii and Signature Bank earned the top three spots on Forbes’ list, while Doral Financial rounded it out at No. 100.

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